An Australian news crew filming along a beach in Queensland's Sunshine Coast happened to be on hand to witness a bare-knuckle brawl between a British grandfather and a 6-and-a-half-foot dusky shark.

Aptly named tourist Paul Marshallsea of Wales responded to cries of "shark" by jumping in the water and grabbing the giant fish by its tail to yank it away from young children who were swimming close by.

The shark's instincts took over as well, and it thrashed backwards, nearly biting Marshallsea's leg. "hen I got the shark to just over knee deep he turned on me and just missed me with a bite," the 62-year-old said.

Wildlife expert Terry Dale joined Marshallsea, and together they managed to steer the shark away from Bullock Beach.

"I know it was dangerous but it almost looked beautiful," Marshallsea told the BBC. "You have got to have respect for a beautiful animal."

The coastguard acknowledged that Marshallsea did a "great job," but recommended that people generally avoid "manhandling sharks."